A Rose and Her Thorn

Chapter One- Venus

The final bell of the day rang and everyone got up from their seats to grab their things from their lockers so they could leave school. Venus slid her sketchbook, pack of gum, and pencil pouch into her backpack, zipped it up, and slung it on her shoulder as she headed out of the art classroom. She popped her earbuds into her ears and blasted some music as she walked to her locker to grab her homework. After quickly grabbing her geometry textbook, she trudged out of the building and started her long walk home. Her mom still thought she took the bus home, but Venus had stopped doing that when the bullying had started.

Venus was bullied for two things: how she dressed and her sexuality. She had come out as bisexual the June before her sophomore year had started. Living in a small town with mostly straight Christians made this difficult for her. Many kids constantly teased her about how she liked girls and boys, telling her to "pick a side". She was also constantly bullied for her alt appearance. In a town where most girls her age wore leggings and a sweatshirt, her mesh tops and Doc Martens were not exactly welcomed or encouraged. Still, she'd figure she'd be able to make it to senior year with minimal death threats.

After a long, tiring walk in the slightly frigid November air, Venus reached home. She dug around in her jacket pocket for her house key, grasping it and unlocking her old front door. Venus lived in an old house with her mom and younger brother Jackson. Her father was currently living a couple states away in Mississippi taking care of her grandmother, who was really sick.

Venus headed to her room. It was small, but Venus had decorated it in true maximalist style; no wall was left uncovered. She had her records hanging up on one wall with fake ivy hanging from the ceiling. The wall above her bed hung pictures of her and her closest friends doing their favourite things- going to the summer fair, diving in the pool, trying crazy drinks at Starbucks. Another wall had her desk and above it, a collage of all her art. For Venus, art was her way to escape. Over the years she had become incredibly talented. She loved to draw her friends, strangers in the park, or OC's from Pinterest character prompts.

She threw her backpack on her desk chair before flopping down on her bed and plugging up her phone to watch some TikToks before doing her homework. While scrolling on her phone she got a text from her childhood friend, Rose, asking her to come over so they could hang out and figure out the geometry homework together. Venus of course texted back immediately saying "Ofc!" and getting out of bed and once again grabbing her backpack and heading out the door.

Venus had a driver's license, but her family couldn't afford to get her a car so she usually walked everywhere. Rose's house was in a very prestigious neighborhood on the rich side of town, so if she wanted to get there she needed to walk fast. Venus walked as fast as she could, blasting her music in her earbuds all the way. Finally, she reached Rose's neighborhood. She texted Rose asking if she could drive her golf cart out to pick her up since all the houses were acres apart and Rose lived at the end of the neighborhood. Rose liked the message and drove out to pick Venus up. "Hey girlie", Rose smiled with flushed cheeks, offering a hand to her friend to help her in the golf cart.

Rose was the very opposite of Venus. With her tanned skin and long straight blonde hair, she was popular among the entire school. Guys frequently asked her out, but she always turned them down because they "weren't her type" and she just "couldn't see herself with them". Venus was always in disbelief with how Rose didn't have a boyfriend. She always used to wish she could pull as effortlessly as her.

Rose drove them to her house as they gossiped about their different classes and the drama in their separate friends groups. Even though Venus and Rose had known each other since preschool, once they entered high school they parted their ways and found different friend groups, mostly because of how different they were, but they remained best friends nevertheless.

They got to Rose's house and went up to Rose's room. In comparison to Venus's small, arguably cluttered room, Rose had a large room with LED light, framed quotes above her bed, and a large vanity with a mirror on one white wall. They sat down on the beanbags in front of Rose's TV, and started on their math homework, all while talking about their separate lives.

They talked late into the evening and Venus ended up staying the night at Rose's house. Rose, unlike her parents and peers, wasn't homophobic and didn't care that Venus was bisexual, so they always slept in the same bed. While Rose probably paid no mind, Venus was always extremely self conscious about it. 'What if I accidentally roll over onto her and she accuses me of touching her?', she would ask herself sometimes, though she knew Rose would never accuse her of something she didn't do. Another thought often sat in the back of her mind that she usually pushed back. As she drifted to sleep, it floated to the front of her conscience:

What if I fall for my best friend?